Couldn't be more different

I loved the varied voices in Faith, Hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Ivy June and Catherine are seventh graders from different schools, and they're getting ready to participate in an exchange program in which they'll take turns living with the other girl's family and attending the other school. What makes this interesting is that Ivy June's family is poor; they live in the mountains, and their rundown house doesn't even have indoor plumbing or telephone service. Catherine, on the other hand, lives an upper-middle-class life in Lexington and attends a private school. Each girl has ideas and prejudices about the other's life, but as they spend time together, they discover the good and bad of both worlds. Chapters alternate between three points of view: the narrator and journal entries by Ivy June and Catherine. As they each face a family crisis toward the end of the book, you'll appreciate the girls' authentic words and feelings as their growing friendship helps them pull through.